Anniversaries, conspiracies and illegal fireworks

Sunday

Jul 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Random thoughts for a Sunday morning:

Mike Klocke

Random thoughts for a Sunday morning:

» Isn't it rather troubling that there's so much discussion about Gov. Jerry Brown's "legacy" when, maybe, more of the focus should be on doing what's right for the state instead of leaving an imprint?

» A UCLA study has found there are about 65,000 grandparents statewide raising grandkids without any family assistance. That's something to think about the next time you want to base teacher pay on test scores. Not all teaching jobs have the same degree of difficulty.

» The 50th anniversaries of two very significant historic events happen later this year. The March on Washington, which included Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, occurred on Aug. 28, 1963. Later that same year, on Nov. 22, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. The Record has begun planning coverage of those important milestones in history. We're also looking for local people who may have been in Washington for the march and Dr. King's speech. If you were there, or know someone who was, drop me an email at the address at the bottom of this column.

» San Joaquin County is being touted by business interests as part of a "Greater Silicon Valley" in a 16-page, glossy insert to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. OK, that's not an excessive reach. If it helps draw high-tech, high-paying jobs here, well, then, it's money well spent.

» Egypt is a mess that will not be fixed soon.

» As an editor, you get to hear all sorts of conspiracy theories and tunnel-visioned views about politics in which left trashes right, right trashes left - over, and over and over. But it's hard to dispute this: If President George W. Bush's administration would have come up with an "Insider Threat Program" that targeted "high-risk behaviors" such as the one uncovered in the Obama administration, the so-called left would have been all over him.

» From first appearance, it looks as if the Stockton Thunder has hired a president, Brian Sandy, with some big-league experience (Portland Trail Blazers) and a small-city background (grew up in El Dorado Hills, Placerville, Pacifica). That sounds like a good combination.

» Fear not, Stocktonians. Minnesota voters elected former pro wrestler and wild man Jesse Ventura as governor. And survived. Cincinnati residents elected the latter-day television crazy-people magnet Jerry Springer as a mayor. And lived to tell about it. There is hope.

» With all the progress being made on fighting crime, it only takes an incident like what happened Wednesday night near a southwest Stockton elementary school - in which suspected gang members opened fire on police - to confirm that there are elements out there that are going to make this challenge very difficult.

» Having made many trips over the San Mateo Bridge, and seeing the flights arriving at San Francisco International Airport from the south, it always struck me both how beautiful and challenging that landing path must be for airline pilots.

» The Women's Center-Youth & Family Services always has done so much good work in San Joaquin County - before and after the two agencies merged. It's both distressing to know there's a need for a $10,000 grant to fight human trafficking locally, and comforting to know this agency is going to be doing the work.

» Somehow it's hard to imagine the Founding Fathers would have thought the proper way to celebrate the nation's birthday is by firing off copious amounts of illegal fireworks. Those who did so caused millions of dollars in damage to a 91-year-old Stockton business (M. Calosso and Son) and potentially put many neighborhoods around the community in peril - including my own.

» One reason they'll have to drag me kicking and screaming to vote by absentee means - I love Election Day mornings and voting in the garage of a neighbor. It's a great, uplifting experience. That being said, kudos to Margaret Louise Goodwin-Battilana of Stockton and Victoria Gribaudo of Acampo for serving as poll workers for more than 50 years' worth of elections. They were honored for their service last week. That would be back before the Johnson-Goldwater election for those of you keeping score.

» Speaking as a Michigan native and a lifelong Detroit Tigers fans: Couldn't the San Francisco Giants have had some of their current problems, say, last October?

Contact Record Editor Mike Klocke at (209) 546-8250 or mklocke@recordnet.com.

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